I was poking around Google Flights for a friend and noticed that there's quite a few dates in Autumn with super cheap economy fares to Tokyo from New York. Normally these would be in the $1000-$1300 range but these are as low as $489! Most of the cheap fares seem to be on Air China via Beijing or ANA/United via Chicago or Los Angeles, and both have reasonable layover times. If it were me, I'd take the ANA itinerary because of ANA's stellar reputation.

As far as Business Class fares go, there's a few Air China itineraries for $2100, but from the reviews I've read, the food and service is terrible, so that $2100 is to get you a lie-flat seat and not a whole lot else.

Keep in mind that the arrival of Tokyo's fall weather lags New York's by a month, so the weather should be mild and pleasant on a lot of the Oct and Nov dates...

I'm not a huge lounge person. There are a few international First Class lounges that still have a huge wow factor, but Business Class lounges – especially ones in the US – are increasingly crowded and often don't even include free drinks or hot food.

Meanwhile, the terminals themselves have been getting increasingly nicer:food from famous local restaurantshealthier and more interesting food and beverages flexible seating with USB and chargers gate-side seating so you can keep an eye on your gate while you wait to board... In fact, I recently had a friend ask me about the lounge in JetBlue's main terminal at JFK and I told him it wasn't even worth visiting.

Priority Pass is a lounge membership program that lets you enter a selected list of lounges around the world for a fee (their handy app lets you see which ones they partner with). Due to the huge popularity of the Chase Sapphire Reserve (which includes a free membership), lots of people ended up with a free Priority P…